All About The Lupe

Hi! My name is Sierra McCase. I am a Green Lupe, 35 years old, brown ponytail, navy blue eyes, and a mother of four. Recently, I’ve been wondering more and more about the wilds of our species, for my daughter, Aquamarine was born wild before I adopted her three years ago. She lived in Shenkuu, with Lunia, her sister and my first adopted daughter, Marlin, her father, and Rona, her mother. Marlin still lives in the wild, and I interviewed him as well.

And, so, Aquamarine and Marlin both told me a bit more about their wild habits, and our very own wild cousins, and I’ve done some research, to put together this very special little report for you, the viewers special entertainment and knowledge. And, now, here’s everything you’d ever want to know about the Lupe. Test your own knowledge as you read this very informal article.

Eyes: The Lupe has huge, binocular eyes. It has a broad field of vision, aiding in the hunts it performs each week. Eyes vary in color, although the main color for them is a bright yellow, which have night vision. However, the navy-blue and hunter green varieties lack this ability (Me, Marlin, and Aqua). With the night vision, their eyes can appear as glowing forms in the distance, and they often hunt at night and day, for they are nocturnal (awake at night) diurnal (awake during the day) and even crepuscular (awake at dawn and dusk). It is terrible when a Lupe goes blind, for they mainly rely on eyesight.

Nose: The size of their noses differs in each subspecies. The Terror Mountain subspecies has a smaller nose, to avoid frostbite in the nostril area in the cold climate. They can sniff through the snow, and even detect scents carried on the wind. The Shenkuu subspecies has a larger nose, to inhale the smell of prey from many miles away on the mist, in the humid air. Males have larger noses than the dainty females, but both are equipped for excellent hunting. Some scientists believe that the noses of the males mainly sniff for the larger prey, the females the smaller. They make great search and rescue Neopets, aiding the Defenders of Neopia when, say, an earthquake occurs.

Markings: Be the Lupe one of the newly-founded Spotted ones, or a beautiful, dainty Faerie, flying amongst the clouds, the main markings always will stay the same. The Lupe has a bridge on its nose, leading up over the eyes and ending at the chin, cream colored in the four basic colors (green, blue, red, and yellow). Then, they have a stripy chest that ends at the base of the tail. The tail is tipped in the color of the face and underbelly. They are most suitable for the environments they live in. You can tell the Shenkuu subspecies apart from the Terror Mountain subspecies, for the Shenkuu have the color of the tail, face and underbelly – tipped toes.

Tufts: There are small pieces of fur hanging down from the Lupe’s muzzle. They act like whiskers. They are very sensitive, and Lupes can make them swish out to the sides of their faces during night hunting trips, to feel their way along in the darkness. Oddly enough, for some strange reason, if these tufts get cut off the Lupe’s face, or they are ripped off, they will never grow back. This doesn’t slow the Lupe down, though! For another strange reason, their sense of touch will become sharper.

Fur: The fur of the Lupe is very dense, coarse, and thick, with about 1,000 hairs per square inch. This helps them stay warm in the cold, and misty, humid, environments they live in, curling up into a tight ball on those cold, snowy nights. The wild ones have thick ruffs on the back of their necks for further protection. The fur on the neck and the back also acts as a raincoat, for when moisture hits it, it just runs off. The thickness of the fur also helps in fights, for when the teeth bite the fur; the black - colored skin is protected by the thick fur.

Paws: The Lupe had big, four-toed paws that are great for hunting. Barely seen under these furry paws are huge, sharp claws and they curve slightly downward for gripping into the hide of some unfortunate animal. They also help in gripping the ground for running, at speeds of up to 35 miles an hour with the pack.

Tail: The long tail of the Lupe is very bushy and soft. These act as a counterbalance when running across the snows of Terror Mountain, or the forests of Shenkuu. They also make a nice scarf to keep one’s nose warm!

Teeth: The teeth of the Lupe are probably one of the most frightening traits of the Lupe. They have four canines, or fangs, mainly for biting. The incisors, located between the fangs, are used for scraping the meat off of bones. The molars, located in the back of the jaws, are used for chewing. They have approximately 32 per jaw. If a Lupe bites you, you’d better have a crowbar with you, for once they grab on, it’s nearly impossible for you to pry their jaws loose.

Habitat: The wild Lupe lives mainly in two places in Neopia: Terror Mountain and Shenkuu. They usually live in roomy caves in large packs, and in valleys. In Shenkuu, they live where water is plentiful, perhaps in a cave next to a waterfall, and in the mountains, they live where the forests are near, digging holes in the deep snow and curling up for the night.

And, so, here it is! The whole sha – bang! All about the Lupe, the species of yours truly! Well, here you are. I’m doing one of these for each of my daughters, Ixia the Ixi, Lunia the Gelert, and Kiara the Kougra! If you want to know more about them, please check out their pet pages! Hope to see you all really soon! Bye!